1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and apparatus for controlling matrix printers, such as ink jet printers. It particularly relates to means to control the flow of ink from an ink jet printer in a manner enabling the printer to produce characters at a faster rate than formerly has been possible with such ink jet printers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior art matrix printers have been designed to operate within certain speed ranges. They cannot generally print effectively, or at all, at speeds which exceed those ranges. These upper limits on operating speeds impose undesirable limits in circumstances in which higher speeds are required, but where limits of space or other considerations militate against the use of other equipment which can operate at faster rates. This is especially the case in those circumstances where the use of such other equipment would require drastic changes in the configuration of a printing system.
The control systems employed with the prior art devices have generally been designed to operate the printers within the designed speed limits. Little or no attention has been directed to the possibility of providing a new character font which, together with new control systems operating in a novel way, enable the production of characters at faster rates without driving the printing equipment beyond its capacity.
Among the prior art ink jet printers are drop-on-demand printers which can produce printed characters at relatively high speeds. However, with prior art printers of a desired configuration, it has not been possible to print, i.e. produce dots, at speeds above a certain level. In particular, with the prior art is has not been found feasible to meet the needs of check endorsing operations requiring operation at higher speeds while staying within certain parameters respecting size and shape.